So, as many of you know, I'm in a show called "Chess" at Footlite. My character, Nicolae, is a very small part, but nonetheless I've decided to create a backstory and do some research in order to really get to know my character. I was forced to do this for Grease and found it quite helpful. I've decided that this might prove marginally interesting to read, so I'm doing it here.
What do I know from the script?
Nicolae is a KGB agent who gathers information for and defends Molokov, the Russian second and head KGB agent. He is very thorough, going as far as to find out whether the American champion and his second are sleeping together. He says "We are checking this out" so obviously he has subordinates.
What can I infer from the script?
Nicolae is the second-in-command of the Russian KGB delegation. Molokov tells him what she wants done or wants to know, and he sees to it that the team does it and finds it out. This also means Molokov can maintain cover of being a Chess second because she never has to talk to a large group of agents to get things done. He is good at his job, and doggedly loyal to Molokov.
What do I know from other versions of the script?
Chess is an interesting show in that many different versions have been produced. In another version of the script, there is a scene where Nicolae goes to the American champion for an autograph. The American says "Hey, aren't you Molokov's assistant?" and he replies "Yes, but I am also a CHess fan." This ties in well with the line Nicolae sings in Endgame: "Prostituting their souls, chasing a spurious starlight. Trinkets in Airports sufficient to lead them astray." This line could easily refer to Chess fans such as himself - the love of the game can come dangerously close to usurping the love of his country.
So is this the case with Nicolae? Does he love Chess more than Russia? I think not. My guess is that Nicolae was chosen for this assignment because he is knowledgable about Chess. Of course, it also seems to me that a team of agents would be most effective if kept together, and the relationship between Nicolae and Molokov suggests that they have worked together for a long time (Molokov conveys instructions to Nicolae with a simple nod.) So, perhaps the entire team was chosen for a variety of reasons, one of which was that Nicolae knows chess (because we know from the script that Molokov neither knows nor cares about it). So Nicolae's purpose in the delegation is two-fold: he is second-in-command and resident chess expert.
What do I not know and how can I make it up?
Nicolae's last name: This isn't important, but I want to have one. I think Nicolae Dostoevsky sounds nice.
Nicolae's age: Well, to have risen to this fairly important position, but to still be young and fit, thirties seems appropriate. We'll say 37. No, scratch that. Knowing the backstory, below, he's moved fast and he's young - 27.
His childhood/life: He has to have grown up in Soviet Russia, but he also has to love Russia. I'm going to say that Nicolae's parents were also in the KGB. They were rather high up, and they were able to give him a priviledged life. And although he knew that life wasn't so great for the average Russian citizen, he never really believed it. Nicolae swallowed the propaganda hook, line, and sinker, because he's a nationalist. He believes in Mother Russia for Mother Russia's sake, and blames any mistakes on the current administration - just as democrats in America these days blame Bush for the country's faults and still love the country and the system.
Nicolae's father got him a government job when he was 18. He had a brilliant mind, and although he wasn't great as a spy, he was able to organize people and operations easily and efficiently. He rose through the ranks slowly, but between his own skill, his father's reputation, and his general likeability he managed to get to where he is in the show.
Nicolae learned of Chess at his fancy school when he was 10. The game fascinated him, and he became the champion of his school. If not for his father's expectations that he join the KGB like he did, he might have been a Chess champion. Still, Nicolae feels that being in the KGB is just like playing Chess - knowing the abilities and locations of your pieces and of your opponents' pieces, and knowing exactly when and how to move them to achieve the desired effect while losing as few of your own pieces as possible. Nicolae often shared this approach to intelligence gathering. He once told it to a high-ranking agent named Irena Molokov when he was applying to be her assistant. Though at the time she didn't hire him, she remembered what he said years later, when she was assembling a team to oversee the World Chess CHampionship, and she hired him as her right-hand man.
Nicolae was thrilled! Not only would this be his first command, he would also be able to attend the world championship, which he had desperately wanted to go to but feared he would not be able to get off work for. He would get to meet the great Anatoly Sergievksy, and the great Freddy Trumper! This is where we find him at the beginning of the show.
(I know this seems to contradict his having a long relationship with Molokov. I think she must have worked with and trained the team for a while before the event actually started; gathering info about everyone and everywhere.)
So that's the end of part one. Part two will occur on my story blog, Tales from the Other Side of the Corndog, where I'll be writing a first-person story featuring Nicolae, in order to really get my mind around the character.
